 |
Health knowledge made personal
|
|
|
Health knowledge made personal
|
I'm fascinated by the difference in perceived happiness across cultures, particularly as I've had a chance to witness that firsthand: I commute every few weeks between Los Cabos, Mexico, and Vancouver, Canada, and have been doing that for several years. My husband is Mexican, so I've been immersed in the Mexican culture, and it truly is amazing how happy these people are, as a country, though so many of them have so little.
A study by the World Health Organization found that Mexico was one of the happiest countries in the world, while the United States was one of the least happy countries. Our lives "up north" are so different from those of people in Mexico - we focus so much on achievement and acquiring more, more, more. Most Mexicans that I know would love to have more, but given the incredibly low wages, "more" remains a dream, and they've learned to be happy with what they do have: family, their spiritual life and beliefs, and time to laugh with and enjoy other people.
I've learned to make a point to make time for the people in life that count, and ironically have spent much more time with my own family since having moved part-time to Mexico. I appreciate family much more than I did before. Viva la familia!
Susan Biali, MD
Write a comment:
|
Posted by Dr. Timothy S.
Researchers looked at data spanning several decades, and concluded that after the age of 48, men are generally happier than women.
Men are most miserable in their 20s, but grow more satisfied as they get older, marry and earn more money, they found.
Women on the other hand are happier than men in early adulthood, but the glow wears off with time.
Anke Plagnol, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, and Richard Easterlin, Professor of Economics at University of Southern California looked specifically at the role of unfulfilled desires in a person’s sense of well-being.
They found that overall happiness is most heavily linked to the stability of a person’s family and finances.
To read more about this UK happiness research -click here